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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, For most of the nation's first 200 years, the United |
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States ran a budget surplus except in periods of war or economic |
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turmoil, but in the 20th and 21st centuries, the federal government |
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has frequently operated in the red, and the Congressional Budget |
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Office expects the deficit to exceed an astounding $1 trillion for |
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the fifth year in a row in fiscal 2013; and |
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WHEREAS, The federal government concluded 2012 by officially |
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hitting its authorized debt ceiling of about $16.4 trillion; |
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although this amounts to a debt burden of more than $52,000 per |
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citizen, Congress voted in January to suspend the statutory |
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borrowing limit until May, and the national debt continues to soar |
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at an average of more than $3.8 billion per day; and |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas is one of 46 states that require a |
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balanced budget either constitutionally or by statute, and it is |
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reasonable to expect the federal government to operate within |
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similarly responsible parameters; through the years, many states |
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have requested that Congress propose a constitutional amendment |
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requiring a balanced budget, and although such a proposal won broad |
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congressional support in 1995, it failed by one vote in the senate; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The higher the deficit, the more the government must |
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spend on interest, and the greater the burden on future |
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generations; a balanced budget amendment would require the |
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government not to spend more than it receives in revenue and would |
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compel lawmakers to carefully consider choices about spending and |
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taxes; and |
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WHEREAS, It is a fundamental truth that no entity can remain |
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solvent when expenditures continually outpace revenue, and every |
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home and every business must spend within its means or face fiscal |
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calamity; the fiscal irresponsibility of the federal government not |
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only jeopardizes the country's economic stability, but also |
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threatens national security; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to |
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the United States Constitution providing that, except during a |
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national emergency or a war declared by the Congress of the United |
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States pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, United States |
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Constitution, or other national emergency, the total of all federal |
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appropriations for a fiscal year may not exceed the total of all |
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estimated federal revenue for that fiscal year; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |